


I'd always come back to you

by daraenss



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Champion Yuuri | Gloria, Crown Tundra Spoilers, Fluff, Galarian Star Tournament, Hop, M/M, One Shot, Rivalry, Short One Shot, Tenderness, TrueRivalShipping, dnkb - Freeform, omg they were rivals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27299080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daraenss/pseuds/daraenss
Summary: The Galarian Star Tournament is better than ever. This time, Raihan and Leon decided to team up, and they have a short conversation about their plans for the future as rivals before their match starts.----Keep in mind that this could be a potential spoiler for Crown Tundra. Not story related and the Galarian Star Tournament was announced months ago (and there are no heavy spoilers about that either), but I still put this warning, just in case.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	I'd always come back to you

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short One Shot that I've been wanting to write for some time, I hope you enjoy it! English is not my first language, so there might be some mistakes.

The Galarian Star Tournament came in like a storm, in the blink of an eye and to everyone’s surprise, but even so, the former Champion of the Galar region, Leon, managed to pull through. The tournament was flourishing smoothly, and no matter how many days passed, lots of trainers gathered to battle at Wyndon Stadium to a full house. Not only the fans were excited to see how each battle played out, the trainers themselves seemed eager to team up and put their strategies to the test. The new multi-battle style was refreshing to everyone—gym leaders, champions, ex-champions and Pokémon trainers alike. The smiles that were lost in the monotony of the regular Pokémon League were back on the people’s face, and they were brighter than ever.

Leon noticed the smiles on everyone’s faces and felt like less weight on his shoulders; suddenly, he could see that all that hard work was paying off. He was proud to see his beloved region working together to achieve the same goal. On that occasion, he decided to team up with Raihan, whom he referred to as his perfect rival. When the tournament started, he was already waiting in the locker room—he arrived almost an hour early, in fear of getting lost in the way and delaying the whole event. Nonetheless, when he entered the room, he noticed that Raihan was already late—maybe he lost track of the time, or Raihan simply was too punctual. Raihan was staring at his phone in front of the board with the upcoming matches. Leon approached him from behind, peeking through his shoulder.

“So,” said Leon. “Who are we fighting this time?”

Raihan jumped on the spot upon hearing his voice. He was too immersed on his phone that he didn’t even hear when the door opened; he had been busy scrolling through his social media and planning a strategy.

“Dude! You scared the hell out of me…!” Raihan gasped, blinking repeatedly. He put his Rotom Phone away as his breathing normalized once again. “It looks like we’re dealing with Hop and Gloria this time.”

“We’re battling the Champion in the first round, huh…” Leon grabbed his own chin with his index finger and thumb. After some seconds, he smiled again—that grin that was brighter than the Sun. “But I’m not scared! I’m sure we will win this.”

“I feel the same,” Raihan replied, with a calm voice and expressing that usual laid-back temperament he had outside of battle. “However, I’d actually prefer beating you, though.”

Leon smiled after hearing that, being unable to contain a soft laugh. Before replying, he shrugged.

“You’re not gonna beat me,” Leon affirmed, frowning with a sly smile on his face. “Charizard and I will make you eat the dust. And, after that, we’ll beat both Gloria and Hop.”

He was suggesting a one versus three so calmly, yet confidently. That was the Leon that everybody knew, the one who believed in his own strength when it came to battling. Seeing the way that Leon was putting his hands on his hips and staring him in the eyes made Raihan think that, maybe, Leon was being serious about it.

“Yeah, sure, keep dreaming,” Raihan replied, raising an eyebrow. One fang could be seen when he smiled, letting the atmosphere fill itself with the competitive aura they both had with each other. “And what are you gonna do after that? You’re gonna beat every Champion at once?”

The worst part wasn’t that Raihan could imagine Leon agreeing to that, it was the fact that he could see his rival winning, even if all odds were against him. Maybe he wasn’t carrying the title of being undefeatable anymore, but Leon still was a very powerful trainer, and had many tricks up his sleeve.

“Actually, I’ve been planning to do that,” Leon replied casually, like it wasn’t a big deal. “You know, challenging other region’s Champions and keeping their titles.”

Leon shrugged, making the conversation seem like he was talking about going on a stroll, pretending that he just didn’t say that he was going to crush every other Champion in battle.

“But that ain’t fair,” Raihan complained, looking away with his eyes half-closed and putting his hands behind his neck. “If you challenge the Champions, that means I’ll have to travel to every region to take away your titles.”

Indirectly, Raihan admitted that he knew that Leon would win all those battles he was dreaming about in his head. In Raihan’s eyes, Leon was standing proudly on the highest point of a pedestal; he was a hero in real life—and his best friend. After all, he could only consider a rival a person that filled his expectations the way Leon did.

Leon smiled, softened by his words. Even if Raihan said things in a way that was not very obvious, Leon still managed to understand his intentions—his words were the only place Leon didn’t get lost. His cheeks suddenly felt like fire, as his skin was painted by a red glow that highlighted his facial features.

“You know I’ll always come back to Galar,” said Leon. But even so, on his mind another set of words laid: _**I’d always come back to you**. _He didn’t have the courage to say that out loud, but the way that his heart beat repeatedly encouraged him a little. “Challenge me when I come back—please, challenge me as many times you need to try to take my titles away from me!”

“I was going to challenge you anyways,” Raihan replied. “I’m YOUR rival, Leon, not the Champion’s.”

In other words, no matter who the Champion was, Raihan was going to keep challenging him. Or even if he lost all his titles and all his honor, he would still consider Leon his perfect rival. He wasn’t the rival of the one who wore the crown, but of all those years of experience filled with adrenaline. Of all those exhibition matches against him. That was even deeper than the desire of becoming the Champion—and, since Leon lost that title, all his motivation to become a Champion vanished into the air. If he didn’t become the Champion by beating Leon, then it was not worth it at all.

“So I hope you give me the match of the century, Leon.”

“You know I’m still the king, Raihan,” Leon replied. This time, his face bore a cheerful smile. “And a king won’t leave his crown, no matter how many lands he conquered.”

“And I’ll stop challenging you when dragons and kings find peace,” Raihan confessed.

The speakers that were on the inside of that locker room activated when the commentator of the day spoke, notifying the trainers that their match would start shortly, so they had to be ready in front of the door that led to the Stadium. Both Raihan and Leon stared at the board that showed all the matches, and tried to study the brackets in those seconds they had before going out to the stage—their stage.

When the time finally came, they both stood in front of the semitransparent sliding doors, waiting for the commentator to say their names in order to go out. Leon raised his fist to Raihan, with a smile so warm that it was able to melt down Raihan’s heart, who was always charmed by the way Leon acted around him—from his sweetness to his competitive attitude, Leon always demonstrated that he was, in fact, his perfect rival. Raihan’s heart answered positively to every single thing that Leon did, and he only hoped to be by his side for as long as they could.

“Are you ready, partner?” Leon asked.

Raihan gave Leon a fist bump, with a sly smile on his face and letting that confident attitude get the best out of him; he was always like that in a stadium—it was a persona he would not get rid off.

“Let’s show ‘em who’s boss,” Raihan replied, staring at the front; his fangs were showing every time he spoke. “After we’ve won, let’s take a nice selfie, shall we?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Any support is appreciated!  
> As a side note, I put my main social media accounts on my profile so check it out if you're interested.


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